Larry Wooster, age 9, of Tucson, Arizona, for his question:

Can elephants swim?

The monster whale is a champion swimmer and diver. In fact, the world's largest animal lives all of his life in the sea. The huge hippo spends most of his life in a river, swimming and floating. Although, an elephant is much bigger and bulkier than a hippo, this does not make swimming impossible for him. As a matter of fact, he is an excellent swimmer. He can even swim faster and farther than the hippo, who practices in the water every day of his life.

Elephants love bathing and slopping about in the water. Often they slosh around in the mud and plaster it over their bodies. When they get a chance, they wade knee deep into a clear river and spray themselves with their trunks. And, very often, they wade deeper into the river to go for a pleasant swim.